“Sacar su propia conclusion.” They were the last words uttered for the record yesterday by Higinio Velez, manager of Cuba's powerhouse baseball team, “amateurs” surrounded in the World Baseball Classic by professionals paid millions to play in the major leagues.

Before he entertained questions yesterday, Cuban manager Higinio Velez issued a clarification in the name of international brotherhood. Or fatherhood. Or something. “When I said that this was a team made of men and not names, I didn't mean that the others were not men,” Velez said.

No one was unhappier to see the United States eliminated short of the World Baseball Classic semifinals than the Koreans. Korea had already beaten Japan twice by a single run in the opening rounds of the inaugural tournament.